How Klay Thompson (accidentally) became the best quote in...

1of8Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors speaks to the media after a 101-92 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.Photo: Bob Levey / Getty Images

3of8Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings at ORACLE Arena on November 24, 2018 in Oakland, California.Photo: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images

4of8Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors speaks to the media during media availability as part of the 2013 Global Games on October 17, 2013 at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China.Photo: Courtesy of NBAE / Getty Images

5of8Warriors' Klay Thompson answers questions during a media availability at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Tues. June 7, 2016, as the teams prepare for game 3 of the NBA Championship.Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

6of8Warriors Klay Thompson speaks to the media during the Golden State Warriors practice session in downtown Oakland.Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

7of8Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson celebrates three-pointer against Houston Rockets in Game 5 of 1st Round of NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2016.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

After most practices, Ridder plants himself in front of the door to the weight room, a few feet from where Thompson completes his shooting routine. As soon as Thompson hoists his final jumper, Ridder, who’s 5-foot-6, scurries to Thompson’s side to detail that day’s interview schedule.

Sometimes, Thompson (who’s 6-7) shakes his head, grumbles a few inaudible words and escapes to the weight room. But most days, after a minute or two of convincing, Thompson relents. That’s when the sound bites come.

Thompson has become the NBA’s most quotable player, which is curious because he claims to abhor interviews. An introvert unimpressed by the trappings of fame, Thompson, 28, would rather play his newest video game or wrestle with his English bulldog, Rocco, than field questions about basketball.

“He’s just trying to get through it as quick as possible,” said Seth Tarver, a childhood friend of Thompson who shares an Oakland hills mansion with him and Klay’s older brother, Mychel. “He also is the type where he can’t necessarily fake it. Sometimes he gets baited into saying stuff because he can’t fake it, and he doesn’t want to give you something cliche.”

Therein lies Thompson’s unintentional charm: In a league of bloated egos and PR spins, he is refreshingly genuine. Asked a question, Thompson says what’s on his mind, unworried about whether his answer could go viral or be controversial.

After Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals for what the league called a “retaliatory swipe” to LeBron James’ groin, Thompson was asked about Green’s trash talk. “Obviously people have feelings,” Thompson said. “People’s feelings get hurt if they’re called a bad word. I guess his feelings just got hurt.”

In August 2016, less than a month after Kevin Durant signed with Golden State, Thompson caused a social-media stir when he told the Vertical’s Shams Charania, “I’m not sacrificing s—, because my game isn’t changing.” He wasn’t wrong. The following season, Thompson averaged career highs in points (22.3) and shot attempts (17.6) as the Warriors steamrolled through the playoffs with a 16-1 record.

Last month, when the Athletic’s Anthony Slater reminded him about the Cavaliers’ 2016 Halloween party that featured tombstone cookies referencing imagined deaths of Thompson and Stephen Curry, Thompson said, “That was funny. Look how that turned out. Psssh. Bums. … Well, look at what pettiness gets you. Gets you 1-8 in the Finals. Idiots.”

Thompson didn’t see those sound bites ripple through the blogosphere because — as he said after he told his shooting hand, “I missed you!” in a win at Portland two weeks ago — “the internet is a very volatile place. I don’t try to be on there too much. … Mass information is crazy. I try to read books.”

This is nothing new. As a toddler, Klay often flipped through children’s books in the playroom while his two brothers roughhoused.

The Warriors’ Klay Thompson still isn’t fond of cameras and microphones, but he can produce memorable quotes. Thompson said, “I never have” gotten over the shyness of his youth.

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle 2017

In those early years, Klay was intensely shy. When his mother, Julie, would take him to classmates’ houses for parties, he sometimes stayed in the car for 20 minutes before joining his friends inside.

After a Lakers-Trail Blazers game in Portland when Klay was 7, his father, former NBA center Mychal Thompson, brought his three sons back to shake hands with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Overcome with nerves, Klay stayed in the hallway, clutching Julie’s hand, while his brothers walked into the Lakers’ locker room with Mychal.

Even in high school, Klay was often too shy to raise his hand in class. But Nancy Keane, who taught Thompson in English and film classes at Orange County’s Santa Margarita Catholic High, could tell he was intelligent. When he spoke, his analysis was thoughtful.

“He likes to sit back and observe,” Mychal said. “He’s always been like that.”

While watching TV late, Thompson tells Tarver about genocides in Africa or the types of dogs Roman soldiers used in battle. Whenever Tarver asks Thompson how he knows something, Thompson says, “I have a lot of free time.”

Thompson remains uncomfortable with cameras and recorders. Seven-plus years into a potential Hall of Fame career, he still gets nervous during interviews and loses his train of thought.

Klay Thompson celebrates after Warriors’ 116-101 win over San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of NBA Western Conference First Round playoffs.

Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

Asked when he got over shyness, Thompson said, “I never have.”

This makes him only more relatable. Thompson’s quotes often go viral because of what he says and because he reminds NBA fans of how they might react in a national spotlight.

Last month, when asked whether Golden State was building momentum, Thompson attempted a simile and failed, saying, “Yeah, it’s building. It’s building like a … I don’t know. It’s building really well.”

Connor Letourneau moved to the Golden State Warriors beat in September 2016 after a year covering Cal. Previously, he spent two years covering the Oregon State Beavers for The Oregonian. Letourneau is a University of Maryland alum who has interned for The Baltimore Sun and blogged for The New York Times. A Portland, Ore., native, he is interested in telling the stories that extend beyond the field or court.